


Where I End

by TDaL



Series: 30 Cliched OTP Challenge [4]
Category: Batman (Comics), DCU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Blood and Gore, Implied Sexual Content, Jason Todd Everyone, M/M, Minor Character Death, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-24
Updated: 2015-09-24
Packaged: 2018-04-23 03:29:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4861322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TDaL/pseuds/TDaL
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In this world Jason had resigned himself with the fact that he wouldn't see anyone he knew from before, alive at the very least.</p>
<p>So when, beyond all expectations, Dick comes back into his life and only had to say but one word, and it's almost like something within him breaks. </p>
<p>"Jason?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where I End

**Author's Note:**

> I swear this was supposed to be short... Oops?

Jason almost wanted to say that he liked the world better this way. _Almost_ being the key word. There was just something about the world - which had been bustling with people before - that was better when eerily quiet.

It was twisted in a way that he thought that it was peaceful.

Not that there really was anything peaceful about the world. Not for the past 16 months.

Of all of the things that Jason had imagined would bring along the end of society and the world as he knew it, never before had he envisioned that it would be zombies of all things.

He couldn’t help but wonder at times, as he watched decaying corpses shuffle around in search of flesh, why he hadn’t turned out like those unfortunate people. What had been so special about him that he hadn’t been resurrected as one of those things?

Some part of him, buried very deep within, felt a kind of kinship with them.

It was strange and sick at the same time. He stomped that part deep down whenever it bubbled up in him.

The strange calmness that he felt as he walked through abandoned cities, dilapidated buildings and trashed remnants of what was once society was disconcerting sometimes.

There was a time when he had lived for attention. A time when he craved attention and being known and making the world a better place in his own image.

Ironically, it was almost suitable that he felt eerily settled in such a world.

For all that he was able to easily make his own way, there was too often an example of how dangerous the new world that he lived in was.

Jason was rudely reminded of how the peace that he felt was false when he stumbled into locked rooms where families had gathered together in their last hours before committing suicide. Abandoned safe houses that were covered in blood. Small children groaning and lumbering over towards him as they caught sight of their next meal.

Only once before had he encountered someone that he had once known.

Sometime between months seven and eight, he had made his way to the outskirts of Star City and had made the decision to go and look for supplies.

Of course, something hadn’t gone according to plan and he had had to make a hasty retreat up a fire escape and onto the roof of a building. Jason had been so focused on snapping the rusted ladder of the fire escape that he didn’t notice until too late that something had been behind him before it grabbed him by the ankle.

A swift kick was his immediate reflex as he whirled around, his handgun already held firmly to blow out some zombie’s brains.

He hadn’t been prepared to see Roy Harper of all people, chained to some air ducts. The red-headed archer let out a keening noise as he reached out to try and grab Jason again, and he didn’t move even as rotting fingers tried to wrap around the toe of his combat boot.

A familiar bow and quiver were leaning against some ducts right next to the thing that had at one point been Roy’s. Jason had picked the weapons up, ignoring the zombie as it tried valiantly to get at him.

He had pulled a single arrow out of the quiver, rolling the shaft between his fingers as he was lost in thought. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that he looked over at the corpse which had once been his friend and ended its miserable existence using his own arrow.

He’d slipped into one of the apartments below and grabbed a bedsheet to cover up the corpse.

With a brand new set of weapons slung over his shoulder, a pack full of cans, water and other supplies that he had managed to scrounge together, Jason had left Star City with a grim reminder.

No one in this world was safe.

Not even superheroes.

-

It was always hard to estimate exactly where he was at certain points in time. Not that he necessarily cared.

Jason was a wanderer of the world now. Going wherever his feet, and occasionally a set of wheels, would take him.

From the get go he had already decided that traversing the grief stricken landscapes was something that he would do on his own. He had encountered small clusters of survivors before, but he only tended to stick around for a few days. Just enough to settle his need for human interaction, but not enough to get attached.

Not only would he rather not go through the pain of watching people die around him, but there was something about being alone that resonated with him.

This world was endure. Survive. The thrill of being hunted and hunting in return.

Often times it wasn’t even the zombies that got to him the most.

Even after everything that had happened, nothing was viler than other human beings.

Jason had once found himself at the edge of a camp, which he had decided to thoroughly scope out to see if he might be able to sleep in a secure location for the night. What he had discovered had filled him with complete and utter rage.

People being held in cages, shivering in the night as men cackled in the distance surrounding a campfire. There had been an arm roasting on the grill and in the cages there was a young girl crying into her mother’s chest as they awaited their own untimely demise.

It wasn’t long before he could feel the blood dripping off of him, rapidly cooling in the night’s air as he broke the lock on the cage. His pack and helmet had been left in a tree, the only weapons that he had brought with him were several knives. Jason had wanted the men to see his face and he had wanted to see their faces as he took their lives.

The people in the cage had recoiled immediately at the sight of him, even as he quietly explained to them that they could take whatever they wanted and leave.

It was the little girl who was the only one to speak up.

_Are you an angel?_

Her mother had slipped him a gold coin as he had turned to leave, already lighting up a cigarette that he had pulled out of one of the dead men’s pockets, satisfied that the people would be able to take up supplies and make their own way.

_It’s the Archangel Raphael. May he protect you during your travels._

Jason wasn’t a religious person, far from it actually. He had been tempted to toss it into the dirt as soon the woman had turned away to rejoin the group of people that he had freed.

He decided that he would toss it away when he was out of sight and had slipped it into the left breast pocket of his jacket.

It hadn’t been taken out since.

-

Jason didn’t know what had drawn him to the crumbling dam. It had been quiet during his trek through the woods, almost suspiciously so, and he had stumbled upon a small settlement of about five houses by a dam. It was secluded enough that he had hope that there might be some supplies laying around that hadn’t been looted yet.

There was a rustling noise in the bushes to his right and almost immediately he had reached around to grab ~~Roy’s~~ his bow. He held his breath, looking around to see what had caused the slight disturbance. Before long a rabbit hopped out from behind some shrubs and Jason relaxed ever so slightly.

As tempting as it would be to shoot the rabbit for dinner, he wanted to make sure that the area was secure before he came up with any thoughts of settling down for the night.

The bow was still in his hands as he made his way to the first house of the small cluster. The windows were intact and the door was locked. It was a promising find.

The lock was easily broken open with his hunting knife. The air inside of the house was stale and musty, but he still closed the door behind him as he stepped into the silent house.

It wasn’t so much a house as it was a glorified log cabin. A living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom on the main floor and a loft bedroom up the stairs.

During his search, Jason had dutifully flipped every picture of the owners so they didn’t stare at him as he looted them of their belongings. A thorough examination of the contents of the house revealed quite a few things. The clothing was all too small to fit him. Over the past year and however many months Jason had lost quite a bit of bulk, but he was still a lot taller and more broad than the average man.

He munched on a chocolate bar, oh what a glorious find that had been, as he exited the first house to look through the others.

It was the third house where he got lucky.

“Well fuck, I hit the damned jackpot.” Jason muttered to himself, his voice a little raspy from the lack of use.

The third house had a built in cellar underneath the stairs. It wasn’t that big in size. He was able to go down a few steps, but had to duck to keep himself from smacking his head against the floor boards. Jason pulled out his flashlight to shine some light into the small space. There was a tiny window that let in a small amount of light, but the grass had grown haphazardly in front of it, almost blocking it off completely.

He closed the metal trapdoor behind himself as he walked into the cellar. It was about ten steps in length and five steps in width, but it was filled to the brim with food.

Canned peaches, canned beans, soups, coffee, and so much more. He laughed to himself as he picked up a box of Kraft Dinner. Jason never thought that he would be so happy to see freaking macaroni and cheese.

His hands were shaking in excitement as he left the house and he attempted to calm himself down by lighting a cigarette. He breathed in the smoke and exhaled it through his nose as he basked in the sun.

Even with two more houses to go through, Jason knew that he would have enough food to last him for weeks, maybe even months if he rationed correctly. A small voice in the back of his head was already whispering the possibilities of having found a seemingly fit place to stay during the winter.

After grabbing all of the other supplies that he deemed worthy to take along with him and setting himself up in the third house, Jason decided that he would celebrate for once.

It was laughably easy to shoot two rabbits. Aided with his hunting knife and a small camping stove that he had found in one of the other houses, he actually managed to make himself a decent meal. Jason couldn’t even remember the last time he had had one of those.

Jason looked at himself in the mirror of the bathroom. His hair was the longest that it had ever been and the length of his beard made him look like a ruffled lumberjack. Armed with scissors, razors and water from the stream he managed to tame all of his hair.

He happily ran his fingers over his shaved face, reveling in the feeling of his skin. His hair was uneven in some places, but he had gotten it back to a reasonable length, which was more than good enough for him.

The night was spent in the upstairs bedroom after he had secured the house. When was the last time that he had slept on a mattress- and a clean one at that?

He buried his face in the pillows and let out a content groan. His gun was by his hand under the pillow and he had placed a few of his knives and his helmet within arm’s reach as well, and he fell into a deep slumber before long.

-

It was on his fourth morning that he was rudely awakened by the sound of the front door closing.

Jason immediately went from dozing to wide awake as he sat up in the bed with his gun in his hands. He listened carefully to discern what the sound had been and what might have been the cause of it. After a few minutes of silence he could hear someone, or something, moving around downstairs.

He slipped into his cargos and slid on his jacket as he creeped to the bedroom door, forgoing his combat boots which would make too much noise in the quiet environment.

Thankfully, the stairs didn’t creak as he slunk his way down, his back pressed against the wall as he tried to figure out where the sound was coming from. The kitchen. Naturally. Food was a scarce essential for life nowadays. Luckily for Jason, he had locked everything into the cellar.

However, he couldn’t just let someone walk in and disrupt the peace that he had found for himself.

The person was muttering to himself as he kneeled down to rummage through the lower cabinets. There was nothing to find besides some hand towels and cleaning supplies. Jason stood in the entrance way, glaring at the young man’s back as he trained his gun on him and spoke up.

“Get up slowly and keep your hands where I can see them.”

The person froze completely. Jason wasn’t even sure if the man was even breathing as he tensed up.

It took a moment before the man raised his hands up into the air and slowly got up off the ground.

Jason made a point of cocking his gun to let the intruder know exactly what kind of a weapon he was packing in an attempt to discourage him from doing anything stupid. “Now turn around so I can see you.”

His voice was still hoarse as he spoke, so he wasn’t sure if his words had come out precisely the way that he had wanted them to. But the man slowly started turning around with his hands still up in the air.

It was then that he heard something that he hadn’t in over a year.

“ _Jason_?”

The voice was filled with disbelief and an air a relief as well. It only took him a moment to realize that this person had said his name and to see that this was someone that he knew.

“Dick?”

In the year and four months that he had been alone he had seen only one person that he had known and he had been dead. Had been one of those things.

Now in the middle of nowhere he had, beyond all circumstances, found someone else that he knew, and he was most assuredly alive.

Jason only had a few seconds after that before Dick let out an excited whoop of laughter and bounded over to him. He didn’t even have time to lower his weapon before long, powerful arms were wrapped around him.

The sudden onslaught had almost made him lose his balance, but luckily they tipped sideways into a wall which kept them from slamming into the ground.

“Oh my god! I can’t believe it! What are the chances? Where have you been? How are you doing? What have you been doing? Are you alone or is there someone else with you?”

He tried to squirm out of Dick’s embrace, but the older man just tightened his grip to keep him from getting free. “Get off of me, Dickface!”

Dick stepped back, but not far enough that he wasn’t able to keep his hands on Jason. He let out another elated giggle as he started running his hands over Jason’s neck, moving up and pushing his hair out of his face.

“I can’t believe it.”

“You mentioned that.” Jason growled as he swatted Dick’s hands away from his face with a scowl.

He stepped away, slipping his gun into the back of his pants before turning towards the stairs. He didn’t fully turn his back on his new house guest, even as he made his way up the stairs. The sound of feet thumping up after him encouraged him to quicken his pace. It was very satisfying to see the frown on Dick’s face as he slammed the bedroom door shut right in front of him and made a point of locking the door.

Even without seeing him, Jason could just imagine the pout that was undoubtedly on Dick’s face. There was a thump on the other side of the door, lower down.

Had the idiot really just sat down in front of the door like a child?

“Do you at least have some food?”

Jason knew that if he just ignored Dick, that the older man would keep on bugging him until he got what he wanted. He grabbed a can of peaches that he had brought upstairs with him in case he wanted a midnight snack.

As he opened the door, he glared down at Dick who had actually sat himself down on the floor before he tossed the peaches into the other man’s lap.

He then slammed the door shut once more and locked it.

A delighted sound echoed from the other side of the door as he flopped down on the bed and buried himself under the covers. He had been planning on sleeping in, so that’s exactly what he was going to do.

-

It was almost odd the way that he and Dick were able to get along with each other.

They had a long history between the two of them. Starting from when Jason had become Robin to him returning to Gotham with vengeance on his mind and adorning a red helmet to an almost begrudging acquaintanceship between them.

Of course it hadn’t taken Dick long before he had discovered the cellar on his own and Jason had come downstairs that first day to find the older man whistling to himself as he warmed up some beans.

Jason didn’t like the fact that he was now going to have to share his food supply with someone else. He had made plans of how he was going to ration and now that had completely gone down the drain.

The companionship almost made up for it.

It had been a long time since he had come across another survivor, but this was different. He knew Dick. This was someone that he had had a connection with before the world had gone to hell.

Jason was sitting outside smoking on a large boulder that was in front of the house, having most likely been decoration within a garden until it had overgrown, when Dick came up with his helmet in his hand.

“I can’t believe you still have this.”

He thought that it was strange the way that Dick almost sounded surprised. “It’s saved my pretty face more often than I can count.” The cigarette was held between his lips as Jason reached out to take the red helmet from Dick.

The helmet was marred with scratches and the color was fading in several places, but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t able to do its job anymore. Jason trailed a finger down a long scratch along the right cheek as he thought about the particular incident when he had nearly died.

Suddenly the cigarette was pulled out from between his lips and he didn’t even have time to shout out in protest before it was tossed on the ground and crushed. Jason glared at Dick’s boot like it had personally offended him, which it had in a way.

“What the fuck, Dick?”

“I thought we agreed that that was a disgusting habit. Where did you even get it?”

Jason scoffed, shifting his elbow ever so slightly to protect that pack of cigarettes that was in the pocket of his jacket. “It’s called scavenging for supplies. Why are you so worried? One of those things is more likely to kill me than a fucking cigarette.”

Dick placed his hands on his hips and furrowed his brow. “It doesn’t have to be that way, you know.”

“Oh really?” His voice was flat and without emotion as he spoke. “So you’re telling me that you’ve found some miracle in which you won’t die by either the hands of zombies or turn into one of them yourself?”

He could see with the way that Dick’s jaw was moving that the older man was gritting his teeth. “That’s not what I mean-”

“Then would you care to enlighten me?” Jason interrupted.

Dick sighed as his stance shifted once more, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck. “You could come back with me.”

Jason leaned his elbows on his knees, staring up at Dick as he waited silently for an explanation.

“Look, Jason. I’m getting picked up in a few weeks. You could back with me, see the others.”

“So what you’re telling me is that somewhere you and some other people have some sort of stronghold?”

“Yes, we do and-”

He interrupted once more. “If you have a stronghold, then what are you doing here?”

With the way that Dick glared at him, he was reminded of the arguments that the two of them used to have together. Both when he was a teenager trying to show off and when he was an anger filled young man.

It was strange how easy it was to fall into old routines.

“It isn’t perfect. There is always need for more food and supplies.”

“Well, then I imagine you can at least tell me that no one has died in this almost perfect place.”

Dick’s silence was more than telling.

Jason just let out a huff of laughter, the corner of his mouth curling up in mirth as he pushed himself off of the boulder. He got in close to Dick and leaned down, something that would never cease to amuse him, to whisper in his ear. “Didn’t think so.”

He hurried past the older man, trying to strengthen his point by shoving him aside with his shoulder. The helmet settled easily over his head as he walked away, deciding to check the woods to see if anything had gotten caught in the snares that he had set up.

-

For a few days Dick didn’t mention the place that he had told Jason about.

He had been acting much like the Dick that Jason remembered from the first moment that he had met the acrobat.

Loud. Nosy. The tendency to be way too touchy feely.

More often than once Jason had shrugged off an arm slung over his shoulder or ducked away from an oncoming hug.

Dick was always let his displeasure known in the most annoying ways.

Jason was curled up in the large armchair in the living room, sitting sideways with his feet tucked under the cushion of the arm rest and his head leaning against the tall back of the chair as he read a copy of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, which he had found on a bookshelf in one of the other houses.

He should have known that Dick had been too quiet in the morning, because it didn’t take long before the older man leaned against the top of the armchair and looked down at Jason. Keeping his eyes focused on the novel in front of him, Jason was determined to ignore Dick.

Even when the older man sighed a few times to try and get his attention Jason continued to ignore him. It wasn’t until he felt fingers running through his hair that he tilted his head up to glare at Dick. The man had a grin on his face as he continued to run his fingers through the white lock of Jason’s hair. “I like this.” Dick said softly.

“I know the circumstances surrounding it weren’t good,” he continued, catching a few white strands and rubbing them between his fingers, “but I think that it suits you.”

Their eyes met and it took a few moments longer than necessary before Jason batted Dick’s hand away. “Go away. Pip is just saving Miss Havisham from the fire she set to her dress.”

“Why would she set fire to her own dress?”

Jason groaned, resolutely keeping his eyes on the words on the page. “It was an accident. Haven’t you ever read this book?” There was only a second of silence before he chuckled at his own words. “What am I talking about? Of course you haven’t.”

He shifted, resettling himself in the comfort of the armchair. There was no way that he was going to let Dick Grayson, of all people, distract him from Charles Dickens.

-

They were tracking a deer together, silently making their way through the forest as they stalked the creature.

So far they’d been living off of smaller mammals which had gotten themselves caught in Jason’s snares, but neither of them had hesitated to go on a hunt when they had spotted the deer.

It wasn’t a large animal. A doe that couldn’t have been more than a year old. It would be more than enough for the two of them though.

Jason was on point, the bow in his hands. The silent weapon was much better for the situation that they were in. The sound of gunfire would only attract unwanted guests.

The deer was skittish. It had been from the moment that Jason and Dick started following it.

Even though they had never hunted an animal before, the inexperience didn’t bar them from following the deer. It was almost like they were on the rooftops of Gotham, following criminals and drug lords around as they waited for the right time to strike.

Eventually the deer paused in a small opening in the forest. Jason was huddled behind a fallen tree, Dick most likely not too far behind him. After a few minutes the deer finally seemed to relax enough to lower her head to nibble at the grass.

The bow wasn’t a weapon that Jason has perfected his skills in, but he was close enough that he hit the doe with one well-placed shot. The arrow punctured higher than where he had been aiming, right above the front legs. Nonetheless the deer let out a terrified screech as it tried to run off. The arrow had done enough damage that the deer was disoriented and it pitched over on its side in its panic. Within seconds Dick jumped out from behind some bushes, Jason’s hunting knife in hand.

By the time that Jason had made it over to where the deer and Dick were, the deer had already passed away with the aid of a knife to the heart.

Dick looked up from where he was crouching next to the animal with a smile on his face. “Good shooting there, Jaybird.”

Jason shrugged before Dick turned back to the animal. It was already starting to get dark and Jason was wondering if it’d be a better idea to skin the deer straight away or carry it back to the houses. Preferably he didn’t want to leave a trail that could be easily followed.

A snapping branch startled him and he immediately notched another arrow as he turned to the source of the sound. He took a few steps forward, his eyes darting around as they tried to asses any potential threats.

It was embarrassing when he almost jumped in surprise when a pheasant dashed away from him.

He lowered the bow with a relieved sigh. “Fucking birds.” He muttered and he turned back towards Dick.

The older man had started skinning the deer, most likely with the same thought that Jason had just been pondering on. Dick looked back at him with a small smile and turned back towards the deer. His body froze before he swiftly looked back with his eyes wide in fear.

“Jason!”

He had barely managed to turn around before a zombie walked right into him. Off balance by the swift turn, he and the zombie tumbled to the ground, Jason’s arms getting trapped between the rotting corpse and the bow.

Snapping teeth stopped right in front of him. Jason quickly turned his face away as a hand shot out, barely missing him and digging nails into the ground.

The weight on top of him suddenly flew off as Dick ran over swiftly and kicked the zombie off of Jason. He rolled onto his side with the force of the blow, watching as Dick drove the hunting knife right into the rotting bastard’s skull.

A hand grabbed his arm and pulled him up. Jason barely managed to not trip over his own feet as Dick started running off. “The deer!”

“Leave it. It’ll be a distraction.” Jason looked over his shoulder and spotted at least half a dozen more zombies stumbling their way over to the deer, intent on ripping it apart.

The sun was just about to sink down behind the trees when they made it back to the house. Dick pulled him inside and shoved him out of the way to close and lock the door behind them.

Jason didn’t even have time to catch his breath before Dick rounded towards him, the older man’s hands running over his face and his neck. “Dick. I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Deft hands unzipped his leather jacket, pushing it off to inspect his neck and shoulders.

“ _Yes._ ” Jason was sure that he sounded as exasperated as he felt. “I’m pretty sure that I’d know if a zombie had gnawed on my neck.”

Dick let out a sigh of relief and he pitched forward, leaning his forehead against Jason’s collarbone and bringing his hands up to rest on the side of Jason’s neck. Not quite sure what to do, Jason eventually just settled on placing his hands on Dick’s waist.

“I was so scared. Last time I wasn’t there, and I thought that this time I would be and there would still be nothing that I could do. Nothing I could do but watch as you went down and I was terrified.”

Jason’s stomach dropped as he realized what Dick was talking about. The older man hadn’t even been on the world when Jason had died. Hadn’t even gone to his funeral. It was a story that had been told once or twice before. He wrapped his arms around Dick’s waist, pulling the man tighter against him and resting his chin on his head.

-

They had slept on the couches in the living room that night, neither of them wanting to sleep in separate rooms.

Jason had woken up just as the sun started peeking over the horizon. A quick walk around the house and checking out the windows let him know that they didn’t have any zombies that had followed them, for now. A part of him was tempted to go out and hunt the ones that they had encountered the day before just to be rid of them.

He decided that it wasn’t worth it before he made his way back to the living room.

Dick didn’t wake up until a few hours later when Jason was sitting at the table restringing the bow.

The string had snapped in the struggle. He took the time to lay out the arrows that he had left as well. The one that had been used to take down the deer had been left behind in favor of retreating, so that already left him with less than before.

None of the arrows were the original ones that he had taken with him from Star City. They had mostly all been trick arrows, which had proved to come in handy in tight situations. Many of the arrows were either picked off from camping shops or bloodied supplies left in ditches.

Jason was having trouble restringing the bow and he cursed as Dick padded over to where he was sitting.

“Is that-?”

The bow was distinctive. The red color still stood out even after everything that it had gone through in the months that Jason had had it.

“Yes.”

Dick shook his head with a sorrowful expression as he walked past Jason to grab some breakfast, but not without trailing his fingers along Jason’s neck.

-

They were cleaning their clothing in the stream that trickled alongside the houses, the slow flow still being controlled by the dam.

Jason rubbed at a dirt stain in one of his shirts without much success. Not that it made too much difference. The shirt itself was black, so the stain itself wasn’t that prominent.

“Oh dear Raphael, which means ‘God has healed’. Help us to be pure in mind, heal us of all ailments, and protect us from all evil that may come our way.” Dick spoke up from where he had started hanging up their clothing out to dry.

Jason looked up and spotted the coin that he had gotten from the mother and daughter that he had saved from cannibals.

He waded over to where Dick was kneeling next to the stream, reaching over and taking the coin from his hands. The coin hadn’t been looked at once since he had gotten it. Neither had he tossed it away as he had first planned on doing. More often than once, though, he had felt its weight inside of the pocket on his left breast.

“It’s a memento.” Jason explained quietly as he reached for his jacket to tuck it back in its hiding space.

He’d rather not dwell on the thoughts that were going through his mind about whether or not the people that he had rescued were still alive or not.

Out of sight, out of mind and all of that crap.

-

“Holy shit!” Dick’s voice rang out from the cellar.

Jason immediately jumped out of the armchair, abandoning his book as he rushed over to the stairwell.

Dick’s head popped out with a giant grin on his face. His hand came up afterwards, proudly showing off a cardboard box.

“It’s Lucky Charms!”

Jason groaned and rubbed his forehead with his fingers. “Are you fucking kidding me, Dickiebird? What good is cereal without milk?”

The rustling of a plastic bag being torn open was more than enough of an answer even before Dick spoke up again. “It’s cereal, Jay! Plus, it’s magically delicious!”

He simply turned on his heel, muttering to himself as he made his way back to the armchair and tried to ignore the delighted noises that Dick was making as he ate the stale cereal.

-

Not all days were as simple.

After having been alone for so long and the two of them having been apart for a while whilst having left off with an antagonistic relationship, it was sometimes hard to coexist.

“You really need to start cleaning up after yourself.”

“Excuse me?”

“All of your shit is everywhere.” Jason tossed a dirty, old shoe at Dick’s head, the latter easily snatching it out of the air with a frown. “I nearly tripped over it coming out of the bathroom! It shouldn’t be anywhere near the fucking bathroom!”

Dick scoffed, tossing the shoe to the front door. “So I left a shoe lying around. It’s not going to be the end of the world.”

Jason gritted his teeth and fisted his hands in annoyance. He pointed towards the mess in the kitchen, the pile of clothing on the floor in the living room and other general crap that was lying around. “Everything is yours. You just leave everything lying around like a fucking spoiled brat!”

Blue eyes narrowed as Dick stood up, walking over to poke Jason in the chest. “Says the one who’s throwing a tantrum at a little mess.”

“I’m not throwing a fucking tantrum! I thought we agreed that we’d clean our own shit up.” Jason automatically stepped forward, looming over Dick as an instinct to try and get him to back down. Dick, however, was not so easily cowed. “Fine. That means I get to smoke inside.”

The taller man stepped away, fishing a packet of cigarettes out of one of the pockets of his pants and lit it up. He made a point of blowing out the smoke in Dick’s face.

“What? No way! You are so blowing this out of proportion.” The cigarette was pulled out from between his fingers and chucked into the sink.

Jason shoved Dick.

Dick shoved back.

It was inevitable that the two of them ended up rolling on the ground, wrestling and punching at each other to let out their frustration.

Jason nursed a black eye as he locked himself in the upstairs bedroom that night, but not without the gleeful knowledge that Dick had a split lip and was missing a molar.

-

Arguments started happening more often as time went on. Especially when Dick started bringing up the idea of Jason leaving with him when he was going to be picked up by some of the survivors that were in his group.

“You wouldn’t have to be alone anymore or carry the burden of fending for yourself!”

“Right, so that means I’d be a burden to others. Does it not get through that fucking thick skull of yours that absolutely no one would even want me around?” Jason snarled, slamming his fist against the wall next to him.

Dick, as he was starting to do more and more often, stepped right in front of him, completely invading his space. “I don’t care what the others think.”

“Well I fucking do! I’d much rather be happy and alone than miserable and surrounded by people that I don’t even like!”

He had already gotten the rundown of the people that were in Dick’s group. A bunch of egocentric superheroes who had managed to get themselves and some civilians out of harm’s way when everything had gone to hell.

There was no way that he was going to shack up with any of them.

Nothing in the world would be able to change his mind.

Not even Dick fucking perfect Grayson.

“In these circumstances people are able to put aside their grudges. We need each other to survive!” Dick argued.

“I don’t need anyone!”

Dick reached up and grabbed onto the collar of Jason’s shirt, tugging his head down towards his own. “You certainly needed me in the woods the other day!”

“Fuck you!” Jason leaned forward, pressing his forehead against Dick’s in an attempt to get him to back off.

The hands on his collar clenched, pulling the fabric around his throat tighter. Dick was growling about how he was such a stubborn asshole one second and the other second their mouths were glued together.

Jason reached out and grabbed onto Dick’s hips, pulling the shorter man towards him as he bit his lower lip. One hand let go of his collar and gripped his hair tightly as Jason swallowed a groan that fell from Dick’s lips.

What they were doing could barely be called kissing. It was wild and fierce and desperate. They were ravaging each other.

It was Dick who broke the kiss, tugging so hard on Jason’s hair that he had to pull back. His head slammed back against the wall and they just stared at each other, trying to catch their breath.

Jason could only imagine what he looked like when he saw how thoroughly wrecked Dick looked. His hair was even more of a mess, with his bangs plastered on the side of his face and covering one of his eyes. His lips were puffy and red from have been sucked on and bitten. The one eye that Jason could see had no trace of blue at all anymore, completely blown black in arousal.

They came apart slowly. First one of Jason’s hands slipping away from Dick’s hips, then the hand that was holding onto Jason’s hair, until there was no contact between the two of them anymore.

They stared each other down for a few more minutes before Jason pushed himself away from the wall, grabbing his jacket off of a chair as he slipped out the front door.

He dutifully ignored the way that his hands were shaking as he lit up as cigarette.

-

After that it seemed like it was open season when it came to touching each other.

Sometimes it was Dick who initiated it, and sometimes it was Jason.

But no matter what, it always started with the two of them arguing with each other. Starting from their first desperate kiss it quickly evolved into more as they started to let out their frustrations.

Arguing about the mess that always trailed behind Dick once led to several plates being smashed from being tossed in anger, with Dick looming over Jason with a cut on his cheek as he pinned the other man to the ground.

They argued when they encountered more zombies. So far, they had been lucky with the small amount of zombies that wandered into the small cluster of houses.

However, the one argument that always got them riled up was Dick trying to convince Jason to join his group.

It was the one argument between the two of them that was never settled. Dick always pushing and coming up with crazier reasons every time they fought. Jason pushing back and denying him at every turn, no matter what was thrown at him.

It was the one thing that he wouldn’t concede.

“You’re such a fucking persistent asshole.” Jason growled out as he slipped his hand under Dick’s shirt.

“And you are just too stubborn for your own good.” If Jason hadn’t leaned in to lick and nip at Dick’s neck, he never would have caught the minute hitch in his breathing as the younger man raked his fingernails over Dick’s stomach.

He’d had Dick shoved up against the wall, and the older man had wrapped his legs around his waist with ease. They were all but rutting against each other as Jason sucked a dark bruise on Dick’s neck.

“You said that you found lube and condoms somewhere right?” Jason breathed out, his eyes fluttering shut as Dick rolled his hips.

“Yes. They’re in the bathroom, in the cabinet under the sink.”

Jason pulled away from Dick, looking up at him as he pried the man’s legs off of his waist. He tugged his shirt off and tossed it somewhere behind him before he started off towards the bathroom. He sent a heated look Dick’s way before he turned around the corner.

“You’d better be naked by the time I get back.”

-

In the few weeks that they had been staying in the woods, the leaves had gone from a mix of green, yellow, orange and red to crackled brown littering the ground.

Autumn was quickly starting to come to an end.

Before long the weather would get colder and the area would become covered in snow.

Jason wasn’t exactly sure how harsh the winter would be in the area of the country that they were in, but he was confident enough about the lodgings that he was staying in and the supplies that he had would be more than enough to keep him alive.

With the transition of autumn into winter also came the looming fact that Dick wouldn’t be staying much longer either.

Dick had a tracker on him that he was supposed to use after a certain amount of days that would lead others to pick him up. The arguments between the two of them about what would happen when that time came happened even more often, almost to the point that they would argue about it daily.

The tension between the two of them had changed from sexual to distant.

Jason wasn’t going to join Dick. He had made up his mind from the moment that the older man had brought up the idea to him.

It wasn’t that he enjoyed being alone out in the treacherous world, but he didn’t want to have to put up with people who knew him.

People who knew about his past and the kind of person that he was.

He was sure that he’d be treated like any other common criminal.

There were too many superheroes in the group that disapproved of the way that he had handled himself after coming back from his resurrection. Heroes that were above killing for their cause.

Heroes like Batman.

Batman who was controlling and manipulative and too spineless to do what needed to be done. Jason and Batman had barely come to an understanding between the two of them the last time they had parted ways.

Technically Jason was still Bruce’s son, but he hadn’t been that boy in a very long time.

Even in his musings, Jason was alert enough to hear Dick moving close to him. He looked over at the older man, who was standing in the doorway of the bedroom with that look on his face. The look that had been on his face whenever he tried to broach the subject of leaving.

“No.”

Jason wasn’t even going to give him a chance to start talking. He wasn’t even sure why Dick even bothered to anymore. Sure, Dick was stubborn, but so was Jason. At this point it was just seeing which of the two of them was more stubborn than the other.

Dick’s look hardened as he steeled himself, and even went as far as puffing out his chest and pulling his shoulders back in an attempt to look larger than he was.

“Jason, hear me out.”

“What part of _no_ do you not seem to understand, Goldie?” Jason bit out as he tossed the boot that he had been trying to clean on the floor.

Dick sighed, bringing a hand up to his forehead to rub at it. “I just don’t understand. What’s holding you back?”

“You know what’s holding me back! I’ve told you this a dozen times. Fuck, it might even be closer to a hundred times by now. Back. Off.” He growled as he pushed himself off of the bed and stalked over to the dresser, turning his back to Dick to try and block him out.

“Jason.” Dick stepped forward and placed a hand on Jason’s shoulder.

His hand shot into his pack and he whirled around with his handgun in his hand. Jason wasn’t planning on using it, but if this was the only way for him to reinforce his point and get the older man to leave it be, then so be it. “Back. Off.”

Dick’s face fell, a saddened look coming over it as he held his hands up. “Or what, Jason? Are you going to shoot me?”

“Maybe I will.” Jason snarled.

Neither of them said anything. The only sound between the two of them was Jason’s harsh breathing and the sounds of Dick’s feet shuffling on the carpet.

“Then do it.”

Jason was taken aback as Dick stepped forward, keeping his eyes trained on Jason even as he stopped right in front of the gun that was levelled at his chest. His stomach dropped as Dick grabbed the gun and brought it up to his face, pressing the muzzle against his forehead.

“Shoot me.” Dick said, so simply, like he wasn’t asking someone to shoot him in the face. He didn’t let go of the gun. “You said it yourself, right? Something is eventually going to kill me. Be it zombies or other people. Might as well be you.” He chuckled with a solemn smile. “For a while I thought that it would be you, you know? Back in those days when you came back and you were angry. _So_ angry. I was so hurt. With memories and the realization that we were part of the reason why you came back the way that you did. Knowing that I wasn’t good to you when you were alive. I was so done with Bruce and he had the audacity to bring in this kid who wore my uniform. Took my family’s colors and the name that my mother had given to me.”

A listless chuckle escaped from Dick as he undoubtedly started going through the memories that he was speaking of. “I should have been there for you, Little Wing.” The old nickname caused a pang in Jason’s chest. “But it’s too late for that now. So just do it. Let’s get this over with.” And Dick, the idiot, the perfect one that Jason had never been able to size up to, the one who set impossible boundaries that he hadn’t been able to cross and the frustration that he had carried along with him that had eventually led to him getting over his head and getting himself killed, let go of the gun and closed his eyes. Waiting for Jason to shoot him. There were even goddamned tears glistening on his ridiculous eyelashes.

For a moment he was tempted. Jason even flicked off the safety and pressed the muzzle harder against Dick’s forehead. In his mind he was thinking of the scene that it would create. Blood, brain matter and skull fragments scattered on the floor and the walls. There would be no back spatter on his hand, because of how the muzzle was pressed directly against Dick’s skin. The gasses expelled from the gun would have no escape and push under his skin until it burst, leaving behind a stellate entry wound. There would be no muzzle stamp because of this and any gun power and any other particles associated with firing a weapon would be deep inside of the wound. Deep inside of Dick’s head.

It was so clear in his mind. The morbid picture was one that he had seen often enough, one that he had inflicted himself more than once. Up close and personal.

It would be so easy.

_So easy._

All he had to do was squeeze the trigger. It’d be over in less than a second.

He couldn’t.

“It’d be a waste of a bullet.” Jason said tonelessly. He flicked the safety back on and let his hand fall. The gun was tucked into the back of his pants as he moved to grab his pack. He quickly started shoving his things inside, trying to grab as much as he could as fast as he could. “I’m going to stay in one of the other houses until you’re gone. Don’t follow me. Don’t talk to me.”

He slung his pack over his shoulder, shoving his feet into his boots and not even bothering to tie them before he left the room and thundered down the stairs. Food was almost an afterthought. Jason back tracked as he moved past the storage. He quickly went down, piling various cans in his arms.

When he exited there was no sign of Dick. Jason could only imagine that he was still standing in the bedroom. The bow and quiver were grabbed as he walked to the front door.

The trek to the other house only took a few short minutes, but it felt like much longer to Jason. He pointedly didn’t look back at the house that he had left. Looking back would show weakness, there was no need to display more weakness than he already had.

Everything that he had taken with him was unceremoniously dumped on the couch before he stalked through the house and went into the bedroom. Jason closed the blinds before he stopped in the middle of the room, harsh panting echoing in his ears.

He let out a growl of frustration as he kicked over a table, as he felt a familiar sort of anger bubble up in him and tinting his vision green. “God fucking dammit!”

The destruction of the room ended with him on the floor, surrounded by broken pieces of furniture, shattered glass from a lamp and various items scattered as he had upended a desk and a dresser. His hand was twinging in pain, no doubt having been cut by something. Glass crunched under his neck and shoulder as he rolled onto his side.

So weak.

There was a time where he would have done it without hesitation.

A time where he would have jumped at the opportunity.

Jason cursed himself out as he shut his eyes, green mocking him even from behind closed eyelids.

-

It had been days since he had gotten a proper glimpse of Dick. At first Jason had thought that the older man had actually left when he finally dared to emerge from the disaster that was the house that he had holed himself up with. There had been no sign of him anywhere, not even any sound evidence of him puttering around.

Jason had gone back to the other house, deciding that he needed to stock up on some more food to be safe. The only thing that tipped him off at that point was a few of Dick’s belongings that were still scattered on the coffee table.

He was leaving the house, arm once again full with food when he caught movement in the corner of his eye. When he looked around he couldn’t see anything, but he already knew what he had seen. Dick was skulking between the trees, probably coming back from a hunt or gathering water and had spotted Jason and had run off.

At least he had succeeded in one thing.

Jason was being left alone.

It was odd to be alone. Now that he had been together with Dick for a few weeks. It was even hard to get back to sleep as he laid down in the living room on the mattress that he had pulled from the ruined bedroom. Somehow Dick’s soft breathing and the rustling of his sheets as he moved around in his sleep had become soothing. Knowing that he was still there.

Jason held his hand up above his face as his fingertips started tingling with the memory of Dick’s tanned, scarred skin underneath them. He cursed as his lips started tingling and the pit in his stomach started heating up. He rolled over, pulling the blankets over his head in an attempt to block the outside world out.

-

He was stringing up a trap in the woods. When he had arrived to check on it, it had been tripped, but if there had been something trapped in it, it was gone now.

Most likely a scavenger had come across it.

Jason tried not to think of the zombie that he had felled earlier in the morning right on the edge of the forest and by the house that he was staying in.

So far they had been lucky. Just a handful of zombies here and there, more often than not just a single one lumbering around the woods. He checked the knot to make sure that it was sturdy enough before he got up and started his trek towards a different trap.

Halfway there he heard twigs snapping loudly in the distance. Jason immediately stopped, pulling out his hunting knife as he took note of his surroundings. The forest was quiet. Eerily so. He tensed as another twig snapped close to him and he turned around, only to see Dick barreling towards him.

“Jason!” Dick grabbed onto his arm and pulled hard as he continued running back towards the houses.

His grip was so tight that all Jason could do was run after him. He looked over his shoulder in the direction that Dick had come from, but couldn’t see anything between the trees. Even with most of the foliage on the ground, it was still hard to see in the distance with the dense forest.

“What are we running from?” Jason asked as he turned back, leaping over a log as he followed Dick.

The answer of his question came from a groan to the side. He quickly looked over and saw a zombie come out from behind the trees and then another one… And another one. As they dashed through the trees more and more of them started popping up. He even had to dodge a few reaching hands before they broke the tree line.

Without thought Jason followed Dick back to the house that they had been staying in together initially. More zombies were coming out from the trees all around them. “It’s a fucking herd!”

Jason cursed under his breath as he followed Dick into the house, closing and locking the door behind him. Dick had already moved towards the windows, moving bookcases in an attempt to block them.

They both swerved their heads towards the kitchen when they heard a crash. A zombie was already trying to climb its way through to get into the house, not even stopping as another pushed it down onto the broken glass in the frame, skewering it in place.

“Fuck. I don’t have enough on me.” Jason said as he felt his pockets. All he had been planning on doing was going into the forest to see if any of the traps had been tripped. Most of his belongings were still in the other house. One of his pistols, the bow and arrow, even his helmet. All he had with him was his hunting knife and the other pistol. With how many zombies he had seen in the area, there was no way they were going to be able to fight all of them off, especially since they were trapped in the house.

He muttered under his breath as he looked around. There had to be a place where they could hide. He flinched as another window broke and even heard Dick cursing as the bookcase fell over with a loud thud.

His eyes trailed over towards the stairs. “The cellar.” Of course. The steel door could be locked from the inside. There was enough space down there for the both of them and it had supplies enough that they’d be able to stay down there for days if they needed to. “The cellar!” He repeated, running towards the door and opening it.

Jason got the steel door open and looked up to see Dick running towards him. He went down a few steps and reached out to grab Dick’s arm to pull him in. He grabbed onto the other man’s shirt, tugging him along with him as he went down before the fabric between his fingers suddenly slipped away. Jason looked up in confusion, watching as Dick dashed off towards the bedroom on the main floor where he had been sleeping. “Dick!”

He was about to jump up a few steps to get out and run after him, especially as he watched several zombies smack into the floor as they crawled through the windows, when Dick came back, fumbling with a small device in his hands.

The front door groaned loudly, a large crack appearing in it as a mass of zombies most likely slammed against it. Dick started, dropping the device on the floor. He was about to pick it back up when one of the zombies that had gotten in through the kitchen lumbered towards him. “Duck!” Jason shouted, and Dick ducked just in time to avoid the hunting knife that Jason threw. It imbedded itself into the zombie’s skull. Jason went a few steps so he could grab onto the collar of Dick’s jacket and tug him towards the stairwell. Screw the device. If they stayed out there any longer, they would be overrun.

Jason pulled Dick down behind him, bending over to avoid hitting his head against the low ceiling. He pushed Dick deeper into the cellar before he turned back to the steel door and closed it. He quickly closed the lock and stepped back, only seconds before something slammed into it.

Above them there was the sound of zombies walking over the floor and scratching noises as zombies tried to get through the door after them. Jason let out a sigh of relief as he stepped back until his back bumped against one of the shelves and he plopped down on the ground.

He pulled his legs towards his body and hung his head down until his forehead hit his knees. His eyes were shut as he listened to the zombies above them.

They wouldn’t be able to get to them. Jason was confident that the door would hold.

He flinched when Dick shuffled over and sat down next to him and looked up with a glare. “What the fuck did you think you were doing? Running back to grab that device? You even dropped it. It’s useless.”

The only weapon that they had with them was Jason’s handgun, and quite possibly whatever Dick had had on him when he had been in the forest himself.

“It’s probably better up there. Better signal.” Dick leaned his head back against the shelf, looking up at the ceiling. “Help will be here soon enough, don’t worry Jaybird.”

He was about to demand to know how help would be coming when they were in the middle of nowhere when he suddenly realized that the device must have been the one that Dick had told him about. The device that Dick had to activate when he needed pick up.

“How do you know that it’ll be here soon?” Jason asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Well, I activated it three days before I was supposed to. I usually stay out for as long as I can, so someone will be suspicious enough to immediately head this way.”

Jason hummed in agreement. It seemed likely enough that that would happen. He was certain that the other survivors would realize something bad was going on when Dick of all people suddenly stopped doing things according to plan.

He was silent as he leaned his head against his knees once more. A few minutes later Dick shuffled even closer and leaned his head against Jason’s shoulder. Jason only hesitated for a moment before he wrapped an arm around Dick’s shoulders, pulling him closer.

-

The thumping of zombies above them became a constant reminder of the predicament they were in, so the both of them looked up in surprised as they heard more assured steps, followed by the thuds of bodies hitting the floor after two days of being holed up.

Jason set a can of fruit medley aside, grabbing his handgun as he got up to get to the door. He held his breath as he listened carefully. There was the soft whisper of words as people started moving around the house, taking down the zombies that were still present. The footsteps stopped close to the trapdoor.

“-re’s the beacon.”

Jason waved Dick over, who clambered up beside him to listen along.

“Fantastic. We’ve found his gear and his beacon, now where is Grayson?”

He was abruptly pushed to the side as Dick moved to open the latch on the trapdoor. He immediately jumped out with a cackle as soon as the door was out of the way.

Jason brushed his clothes off as he listened to the jovial sounds of reunion coming from the room above him. There was a part of him that was sorely tempted to just stay down in the cellar. He’d only be a nuisance if he went up as well.

But his need to be out of the small space won out and he climbed up the steps, peeking out just in time to see Dick drop Tim back to his feet before he all but bounced over to where Damian was standing. Of course the Replacement and the Demon Brat would come for Dick when he was in need. Even after everything it seemed they were brothers to the end.

He stared at the three of them. When had Damian gotten taller than Dick? It wasn’t by much, but enough that it was noticeable even from where he was standing. Jason was about to slink back down into the cellar, deciding that he didn’t want to be a part of what he was seeing in front of him when Dick turned around with a grin. “C’mon! Get up here!”

Now he really couldn’t just shirk away, especially when both Tim and Damian turned towards where Dick was looking at him. Surprise came over Tim’s face and Damian clicked his tongue and looked at him with a scowl.

“Todd.”

“Jason? How-?”

“Sheer dumb luck.” “Fate!” Both he and Dick said at the same time.

Jason glowered as Dick bounded over towards him and patted his shoulder. “I found him holed up here a few weeks back. You should see this place! There’s months of food here! There was cereal!” Dick pointed towards the cellar door.

Jason stared at the floor as he felt both the Replacement’s and the Demon Brat’s eyes train on him. He shrugged off Dick’s hand and headed towards the door. The zombie with his hunting knife was still on the floor and he pulled the knife out. “Jason?”

“I’m grabbing my things.”

He left without looking back. There was a heavily modified version of the Batwing resting near one of the houses, which explained how the others all got around without too much trouble. A few stray zombies were still clambering around here and there. He only bothered with them if any of them got too close to him.

Luckily his stuff was left untouched. None of the zombies had tried to get into the house, so not even the windows were broken. He walked to the bedroom and started getting his stuff together. There was a trolley bag in the bottom of one of the closets and he started filling that with the food that he still had left over. He’d go back to the other house and fill up more before he set off again.

There was no reason for him to stay now.

Jason headed back to the main house, his pack hung over his shoulders and pulling the trolley bag behind him, his helmet perched on top of it. He felt three pairs of eyes focus in on him as he came back into the house and went back to the cellar.

He went down and started picking and choosing what to take along with him. Even though he wouldn’t be able to bring everything with him, he’d still have enough with him to last him for a while. There were a few other things that he wanted to grab, the blanket that he had been sleeping with and a few books that he wanted to read, but other than that he already had everything with him.

Jason left the cellar and after putting everything in the trolley bag he knelt down to flip the bookcase over and grab the books that he wanted. He ignored the person that came up behind him. “Jason? What are you doing?” Dick asked.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” He put the books into his pack and got back up, turning on his heels to look at Dick. “You can take the rest of the food with you. I can’t carry any more.”

“Jason!” Dick’s hand snapped out and grabbed his just as he reached over to grab the handle of the trolley bag. “Please stay. At least for the night. It’ll be better for you if you can take advantage of the full day.”

It was true. Jason was tempted to leave anyways just to prove to Dick once and for all that Jason didn’t have to listen to him, but the reasoning was sound enough for him to concede. He grunted in reply and in turn grabbed his helmet and started up the stairs to go up to his bedroom.

Immediately when he was out of range he could hear protests coming up from the Replacement, but when he closed the door behind him, he blocked out any noises that he didn’t want to hear.

-

Jason had woken up to the others running around. They had gotten up at the crack of dawn and started going through the houses to look for things that they could bring with them.

He sat on the rock in the garden, smoking a cigarette as they packed up clothing, blankets, boxes full of books and board games, and the food that came out of the cellar. It didn’t take too long before they were completely packed up and ready to go.

Jason’s own things were next to him. Both his pack and the trolley bag on the ground next to the rock, his helmet gleaming in the sunlight. A chill went through him as cold wind blew passed him. Maybe he would put on a sweater as extra warmth.

The low hum of the Batwing echoed through the grove of houses and Jason looked up from extinguishing his cigarette on the rock to see Dick standing in front of him.

The older man had _that_ look on his face.

“No. Dick, don’t you get it? I’m not coming with you.” Jason immediately said.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” Jason looked up at him, meeting his eyes and not looking away. Neither of them blinked as they stared at each other. Eventually Jason just sighed as he slid off of the rock. “I’ll be fine. Don’t you worry, Dickiebird.”

Dick chuckled, kicking at some rocks on the ground. “If you say so, Jaybird.”

Jason was about to turn away again when Dick moved forward and got into his personal space. He looked down at Dick, bracing himself for a tight hug, so he was surprised when Dick placed his hands on Jason’s chest and leaned up to kiss him. Jason reached up, holding onto Dick’s elbows as they kissed.

Somewhere in the background he could hear the sound of someone choking on their drink and there a quick spat and his name shrieked out loud - “TODD!” - before the voices disappeared. Both Tim and Damian having undoubtedly gone back into the Batwing.

He licked his lips as they pulled away from each other. Dick smiled up at him, slipping something into his left breast pocket before he patted it and turned away. Jason watched as the older man walked up the latch and closed it behind him.

Within a minute the Batwing rose up off of the ground and took off. Jason stayed looking up at the sky for several minutes, long after the aircraft had disappeared from sight. He looked down at his pocket, pulling out whatever Dick had slid into it.

Jason wasn’t surprised to see the beacon in his hands. He huffed to himself and shook his head as he slid it back in. After that he gathered his things and set off into the forest.

-

\--

-

The sun was setting behind the buildings, its light reflecting on the sea water as it lapped at the sand of the beach.

Jason was sitting on top of an apartment building. He took a drag of his cigarette as he watched the sun disappear under the horizon.

It was a calm spring day.

If you ignored the hundreds of zombies that were moaning and stumbling around on the streets below him. A lack of food had sent him into the city, as much as he had wanted to steer away from it. He had been able to get on the rooftops early on and had been using them to traverse the city. Had even found a single can of beans in an apartment earlier.

Jason dropped the empty can over the edge of the roof, watching it as it fell down and clattered to the ground. Only a few seconds passed before over two dozen zombies were already standing around it, investigating if it was something that they could eat.

He sighed as he leaned back, the gravel of the roof crunching underneath him and he swung his legs back and forth as they still dangled over the edge of the roof. Jason took one last drag of his cigarette before he flicked it away.

The sky was orange and pink above him, steadily getting darker as he stared up at it. Jason pulled his jacket open to reach for his cigarette pack, and he was starting to run out, he needed to get lucky again very soon, and heard a soft thump. He lifted his head up to inspect what had fallen out of his jacket and was surprised to see the Archangel Raphael coin and the beacon that Dick had left with him.

He picked both items up, one in each hand.

The words from the coin glinted at him as he looked at it. Then he looked over at the beacon. Jason wondered how long it would take before someone would show up after he pushed in the button.

His nail trailed along the edge of the button as he pondered. Jason was bored. Had been since the turning of the seasons.

The winter had been long and harsh and filled with excitement and danger. The spring had brought along a calmer way of living. The roads were easier to transverse and it was easier to get around, but at the same time it had brought along the disappearance of the snow and made it easier for zombies to walk around as well.

Jason found himself pressing the button without much thought. He sighed as a light came on and started blinking, no doubt starting to transmit its signal.

Oh well. Too late to turn back now.

With a groan he pushed himself up.

Might as well create a fire to act as a signal. If anyone was going to come within the next few hours it would be too dark to see anything.

-

It was in the wee hours of the morning, the sky just barely starting to lighten up, when he heard the telltale signs of the Batwing hovering. He crawled out of his sleeping bag, standing up to see the aircraft touchdown on a building next to him.

Jason quickly shoved everything into his pack. Once he had everything put away, he took a deep breath before he ran towards the edge of the roof, jumping at the last possible moment. He tucked into a roll as he landed on the roof opposite and came up standing without a problem.

It was barely a second later when a weight jumped on him, arms and legs wrapping around him. Jason reached out and grabbed onto strong thighs as his head was tilted up with insistent hands and his lips were pressed into a bruising kiss.

Oh yes. He thought to himself as he kissed Dick back with just as much fervor.

It had been a good idea to press the button.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I kind of fell in love with this verse. I might do a continuation if anyone's interested. Join me on [Tumblr](http://flashthroughlight.tumblr.com/)!


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